


No One Knows Who We Are

by Kraehenhexe



Category: Tokyo Mew Mew
Genre: Archery, Domestic, Gen, IC fic! tried my best to get their personalities right, Magical Girls, Mayu - Freeform, Retasu has seriously cool OC friends in here, Yuka - Freeform, also Minto has a cousin named Hitori, chimera anima, chimera parrot, daily scenarios, rei - Freeform, she's made up but she might come back
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-24
Updated: 2019-04-23
Packaged: 2020-01-25 18:29:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,405
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18580147
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kraehenhexe/pseuds/Kraehenhexe
Summary: Sometimes it's hard to remember that you're a superhero and need to keep your real identity a secret when the media flaunts everything you do right back in your face. Several times the Mews slipped up in front of their friends and family about their double life as regular schoolgirls and butt-kicking heroines.





	1. The Monday Paper

**Author's Note:**

> 'Lo, everyone! :)  
> It sure has been a while, hasn't it? I almost forgot my AO3 existed (oof). The first three chapters of this story are originally from 2015, I just plumb forgot to ever upload it here, haha! I finished Zakuro's chapter in the past week (after almost 4 years of leaving people hanging with a half-finished fic) and was excited to post it, so it's about time I updated my AO3 feed with some cute TMM stories~
> 
> The first chapter in this dorky little series: Ichigo Momomiya (Mew Mew Strawberry)!

The students at Onizuka Junior High decided to spend their lunch period hanging around the classroom, talking animatedly among themselves. Ichigo sat near the back of the room with Moe and Miwa, the two girls heatedly debating about the latest celebrity scandal while Ichigo tried to catch a cat nap. She'd stayed up way too late the night before, and it was all stupid Kisshu's fault. He just _had_ to turn a nasty sewer rat into a Chimera Anima and set it loose on the one night Ichigo was alone on patrol. It chased her throughout the city (through garbage and mud and quite a few other unmentionables) until she was cornered in a parking lot, then attacked her. She couldn't take the rat down by herself and had to get help from Lettuce and Zakuro to capture its soul. By the time Ichigo got home and went to sleep, it was after four in the morning.

She had almost successfully fallen asleep to a daydream of Masaya when the door to the classroom opened and a couple of girls came in from another class, one of them waving a newspaper over her head. "There's a new story about those super girls!" the girl without the paper said excitedly, gaining everyone's attention. The Mew Mew team was a hot topic in social media; most of Tokyo's adolescents were the girls' biggest fans, and anything pertaining to the five super girls was considered huge enough to gossip about.

A bunch of students crowded around the two girls as they spread the paper out on one of the desks, jostling one another to get close enough to read what it said. Ichigo looked up at 'super girls' and listened to them chattering to one another. From where she sat, she could see through a gap between a couple of students some words of the article, but not enough to know what it was talking about. Just then, one student called out the title:

_"Superheroines Tokyo Mew Mew Save Their Own From Giant Rat!"_

Ichigo snorted at the headline. "Out of all the stuff that happened last night, that's what they picked to write about? Those guys don't know the half of it!" she muttered. She laid her forehead on the desk and stewed in her frustration, half-heartedly listening to her classmates reading the article out loud.

The voices of her friends brought her attention back to the present. "What do you mean by that, Ichigo? Did you see something the newspapers didn't?"

"H-Huh?" Ichigo quickly sat up and came face-to-face with Moe and Miwa, who were leaning in close over her desk with confused expressions. Both of them had eyes as wide as saucers, flooring the poor girl where she sat and surrounding her so she was left with no way to escape.

"You said they didn't know. Spill the beans, Ichigo!" Moe demanded, smacking her fist on top of the desk.

Miwa was quick to follow her lead. "Yeah, were you there?"

Oh my gosh, this was starting to fall apart way too fast. Ichigo fumbled to come up with some sort of cover to what she'd said. "N-N-No! Y-You guys, you've got it all wrong!" she stammered, smiling awkwardly at the two suspicious girls. "I just heard it was totally worse on TV last night! The newspaper doesn't, um, give them enough credit," Ichigo explained.  _They don't need to know I was actually a part of it!_

Miwa was ready to believe her, but Moe still didn't look convinced. "And just when did you see Tokyo Mew Mew on TV?" she asked.

Ichigo's mind blanked. "Um... it came on early this morning?" she offered, and let out a nervous giggle.

The blonde girl was about to reply when the bell interrupted her, followed by their teacher walking in through the door. Moe eyed her friend critically. "Your story may check out, Momomiya. But," she smiled deviously, "if I think you're holding out on juicy details ever again, it'll cost you!" She winked knowingly at the flustered girl before she gave her attention to the teacher.

The red-haired girl sighed with relief as her friends turned around and focused on the lesson. She'd seriously dodged a bullet just then. _That was way too close for comfort! What if Aoyama-kun ever found out?_ She heaved another sigh and propped open her textbook, turning to the correct page before using the book as a pillow. _This 'secret identity' business is harder than I thought!_


	2. The Marksmanship Lesson

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The second chapter: Minto Aizawa (Mew Mew Mint)!

Sunday afternoons were usually quiet in the Aizawa manor, as the day of rest should be. With only Mint, her grandmother, the maids and her dog Miki, there were no disasters, no crashing and yelling, and definitely  _no_  obnoxious cousin who had said quite adamantly that their weekly archery lesson would be held at  _Mint's_ estate this time, in  _Mint's_ private garden surrounded by  _Mint's_ favorite flowers. Unfortunately, it seemed that Mint's day off would not be spent relaxing in the courtyard, sipping at her new favorite brand of tea - a unique blend imported from South America and given to her as a gift from Akasaka- _san_.

The blue Mew Mew found herself instead reluctantly spectating her cousin from the patio a few feet away. It was a gorgeous day out, but Mint could hardly find herself willing to relax and enjoy the lovely temperatures after the last few days of scorching heat. Watching master and student work at something she was particularly good at made her edgy, since some part of her wanted to teach them her own impromptu way of learning archery. Simply observing like she was now was driving her up the wall.

The instructor, Charles Ector, was demonstrating the move incorrectly. Yes, he wielded the bow with a practiced arm and knew when to fire, and he definitely understood the basics of how to handle his weapon. But he was teaching an amateur the lessons of a master, and he wasn't giving her the time to learn from the novice perspective. Even Mint, who had improved her skills through real experience, had taught herself the bare minimum of archery. Hitori wasn't getting anywhere because Ector couldn't see where the girl had trouble. After watching her cousin struggle to properly aim down the sights for a good fifteen minutes or so, Mint had had enough.

"Let me see your bow," she all but demanded, holding out her hand towards the weapon in Ector's hand. He actually jumped a little, startled by her sudden appearance at his side. His mouth opened, but the question died on his lips at the glare Mint was giving him. His jaw clacked as he shut it and handed her the bow, which she hefted into the air, testing its weight.

She walked right past him and stood beside Hitori, glancing down at the younger girl. "He was doing it wrong," Mint explained at the girl's confused look, eyes bright with irritation and excitement. "Just watch what I do. Beginners can't be expected to understand and perform like a master right away." She said this to Hitori, but her eyes caught Mister Ector's knowingly. The blue-haired girl studied him for a long moment before she turned away, facing the target and lowering herself ever so slightly into a ready position.

As she closed her left eye and stared down the length of the arrow to where she intended to hit the straw dummy, Mint took a second to calm herself.

Breathe in, breathe out. Take a moment to identify the target. Aim with precision. Catch the right angle and wait for the wind to cease. Breathe in...

Release.

_Ribbon Mint Echo_ , she found herself mouthing silently as the arrow released with a sharp twang. She watched as the mark shot true, sticking from almost dead-center on the bullseye.

Her concentration was broken by the sounds of applause from behind her, startling her from her thoughts. As she turned toward the others, Hitori was already at her side, gaping at the bulls-eye with open awe.

"Ohmygod, that was  _amazing_ , Mint!" Hitori gushed, her eyes practically drowning in sparkles of admiration as she looked up at her older cousin. "So cool!"

Instead of her usual cool response, the blue Mew Mew felt her cheeks grow hot at their praise. "Thank you," she said sincerely, smiling at her family. The instructor looked a little out of place from the small crowd of maids and servants that had come outside to watch their lady shoot, but he clapped along with the others at Mint's skill. Without a doubt, the older man thought, the girl was a prodigy at her own art. He'd never say it out loud, but Mint was far more advanced than himself at archery.

Her grandmother shuffled forward, her brown eyes warm but curious as she appraised the beaming blue-haired girl. "Young miss, when did you become so skilled with the bow?" she asked.

Mint's smile faltered, momentarily caught off-guard. The proud flush slowly left her cheeks as she struggled to come up with a fast response. "I just... sort of picked it up some time ago," she answered carefully.

It wasn't the whole truth, but her  _baa-chan_  didn't need to know that her granddaughter was actually one of the supergirls always in the news. The poor woman would have a stroke if she witnessed first-hand the kind of danger the Mew Mews went up against. Mint swore she saw lingering suspicion in those eyes before her grandmother's smile widened and she bent at the waist, offering Mint her respect.

"You're very gifted, young miss - one would have to be a fool to not notice your sudden progress from four months ago. Perhaps Mister Ector could learn a trick or two from you," she said and grinned cheekily at the instructor beside her. He flushed red at the implication and sputtered, trying to come up with a reply to her most  _heinous_ claims. How dare she, despite being the guardian of a prestigious dancer, think to say that a  _master_ would learn from someone  _younger_? The thought was blasphemous, and Ector was all too happy to correct the elderly woman on her mistake.

Hitori interrupted before he could grasp his anger and form it into words, moving the subject on. "Why'd you start training, Mint? I thought you wanted to be a dancer," said the brunette.

Now that was a question Mint was comfortable with. "It's only recreational. I'm still pursuing my dream, but not everything can be fixed through dancing; I use archery as a way to vent," she explained easily, gesturing with the bow still held in her right hand.

As Mint began gathering her and Hitori's discarded arrows, she heard the younger girl giggle and say, "You must have a ton of pent-up frustration if you're that good of a shot!"

The blue-haired girl sighed, uncharacteristically pushing her bangs out of her face. "You have  _no_ idea," she mumbled under her breath.

Her grandmother, the closest one, caught the words. "Did you say something, young miss?" the elderly woman asked, watching Mint pick up the fallen arrows.

Mint hid a small smile and shook her head, "No, it was nothing." She handed off the bow and arrows to her cousin before facing them again, a false smile in place. "Please excuse me, Hitori, Mister Ector,  _baa-chan_ ," she said, bowing at the waist to each of them before turning on her heel and disappearing into the manor.

Once inside, with the door shut tight behind her, Mint let out a breath she didn't realize she'd been holding. "Honestly," she whispered to herself with another shake of her head. "Shirogane, that idiot. Trying to keep a secret identity is far too much work for someone like myself." Mint fought the childish urge to scuff her toes against the floor and pout for all she was worth. "Stupid baka."


	3. The Shopping Trip

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The third chapter: Retasu Midorikawa (Mew Mew Lettuce)!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The three OCs that Lettuce has befriended in this chapter are ones you'll likely not see again (same with Mint's cousin Hitori) unless by some stroke of a chance they became a hit with readers. Also, these girls are not the nasty ones Lettuce is forced to carry schoolbags for in the anime. They're just classmates of hers that have taken a liking to our favorite green-haired gal (and are totally not the type of girls she'd pick first to hang out with, pfft).

Hours had already gone by, and Lettuce still wasn't really sure how she got wrapped up in this mess the other girls called a "simple trip to the mall".

Some of her classmates had asked her to come with them despite her excuses of needing to do homework and catch up on sleep, claiming she should get out more. Mayu and Rei, in particular, were eager to have the quiet girl accompany them that weekend - Yuka, the more reserved (but also the friendliest) member of the trio, was happy to have someone not-so-crazy to talk to. The peppy blondes could be too much to handle sometimes. But no one told Lettuce she'd be out and about past midnight on the weekend, in one of the busiest parts of the city.

And Lettuce was certain that no amount of training could possibly have prepared her for dealing with the Black Friday rush.

Everywhere she looked, people (rather angrily) bartered for wares ranging from fabrics to toys, accessories to furniture, even food, and vehicles - there was nothing that escaped the frenzy of late-night shoppers. The way some older women fought over clothes on sale was scarier than some Chimera Animas Lettuce had battled before. The idea that human females on shopping sprees could be more aggressive than a weird monster from another planet was one that sent shivers down poor Lettuce's spine.

Within moments she and the other girls had been swept into the confusion, waging their own war against the masses as they tried to stick together in the crowd. With much difficult and angry yelling from several strangers, they managed to momentarily escape onto the escalators, all breathing hard and looked quite disheveled.

Rei was the worst off out of them all, her bouncy curls frizzed out and sticking every which way as she leaned over the railing, staring at the crowds below. Lettuce almost thought the girl was scared until she saw the grin spreading across her cheeks. "Nothing like the adrenaline rush of legally pushing people out of the way, huh?" the strawberry blonde giggled, looking back at her friends.

Mayu and Yuka shook their heads with smiles of their own. Lettuce was actually sitting on the step beneath them, trying to catch her breath. "I've never dealt with something quite like that," she said unsteadily, watching the mass of people. "How can so many people be willing to fight so violently for things at almost one in the morning?"

"Don't sweat the small stuff, Lettuce!" said Mayu, winking at the flustered girl.

Rei's heels clicked against the linoleum as they stepped off the escalators, and squeaked the tiniest bit when she turned to face them. "I don't know about you, but I'm in the mood to browse the  _ladies_  section," she said with a mischievous grin. "You know what I mean?" She wiggled her eyebrows for emphasis.

"Totally. I need some stuff too, let's all head that way," Mayu agreed, walking off across the store. Yuka and Lettuce followed behind them obediently, trying their best not to get tossed to the ground by aggressive customers.

When the girls struck up a conversation about the new shows they'd been watching on TV, Lettuce kept to herself. The topic soon turned to the latest information about Tokyo Mew Mew, in which Rei gushed about how much she loved the mysterious purple one, Mayu claimed the blue Mew Mew was the coolest, and Yuka admitted to liking the green one the best. The brunette noticed how Lettuce didn't voice her opinion, though the green-haired girl seemed to tense for just a moment when the supergirls were mentioned.

The group soon arrived at Victoria's Secret, easily slipping in the throng of people without worrying about someone trying to ID them. Mayu and Rei squealed in delight at the cute items on sale and ran from aisle to aisle, grabbing the most adorable ones until their arms were laden with merchandise. Yuka wasn't interested in buffing her wardrobe and Lettuce was in her own world, so the girls split up in front of the dressing rooms with the promise to meet up in a few minutes.

When the others had gone into the changing rooms, Yuka turned to say something to her companion, but the girl was still preoccupied with some distant corner of the store. "Hey Lettuce, are you feeling alright?" she called, half-wanting to wave her hand in front of the other girl's face.

Lettuce jumped a little at the sound of her name and looked up. "What? Um, excuse me! My mind was somewhere else," she answered with an embarrassed smile. "Did you say something?"

Yuka smiled back, but her concern was written all over her face. "I asked if you were doing okay. The whole time we've been here, you've totally spaced out. Missing your boyfriend or something?"

_Whaaat?!_  "B-B-Boyfriend?" Lettuce's cheeks flushed pink, completely caught off her guard. "W-Where did you come up with t-that, Yuka?" she stammered.

Her classmate had a smirk and a certain look on her face that could only spell trouble. "Sooo, am I right?" Yuka asked, nudging Lettuce in the side.

The green-haired girl started to shake her head, but she hesitated. "Well, it's about my work, and it does have to do with a guy, y-yes," she explained. At the other girl's triumphant smile, Lettuce was quick to say, " _but it doesn't involve romance at all!_ " Several other customers turned their heads at the girl's outburst and she blushed tomato red, mortified. Beside her, Yuka was laughing.

"You don't have to get so flustered, I'm only kidding with you," the brunette said, still giggling. "You never talk about your job; you're a waitress at that cute little cafe, right? Mew something?" she asked as she wrapped one of her arms around Lettuce's, leading her away from the dressing rooms and towards the young adult wear section of the mall.

Lettuce nodded, although Yuka wasn't facing her. "Cafe Mew Mew," she answered as she was dragged between rack after rack of miscellaneous clothing items, farther away from where their classmates were.

Yuka sent her a surprised smile over her shoulder. "That gorgeous blond guy is your boss? Lettuce, Lettuce,  _Lettuce_ ," she repeated the girl's name with a shake of her head. "I'd have the hots for him too if I worked under such a nice piece of man. You sly girl!" she exclaimed.

If she were to turn back around, Yuka would surely collapse with laughter at how red Lettuce's face was. "I-It's not like that," she mumbled, but her protests went unheard by the girl so happily imagining her and Ryou in a romantic relationship. Lettuce knew she wouldn't get anywhere after Yuka got certain thoughts in her head, so she left the girl to her fantasies.

They stopped in front of a long line of dresses, each colored so violently and complex it was difficult for Lettuce to tell what the designs were supposed to be on the skirts. Her questions about them died on her lips when she saw Yuka rifling through dress after dress. With a sigh of resignation, Lettuce followed after her, checking out the racks of clothing as she passed.

The other girl hummed a random tune to herself as she pulled a light blue halter dress from the rack and held it up to Lettuce's chest. "Blue looks good on you, Lettuce. I think it might be your color, it brings out your eyes so well," she said thoughtfully.

Yuka had already disappeared into the mass of dresses when Lettuce answered her. "No, I prefer green. I wear green most often, and... it makes me feel more like myself," she admitted. A moment later she realized what she had implied and stifled a gasp, her face going red. "Sorry Yuka, was that weird?"

"No, but green?" Her classmate's voice came from somewhere in the line of racks, openly confused, "I've never seen you in something green before." Yuka came out of the clothes, arms laden with what was most likely thirty different shades of blue. "You're usually in white, or something close to it," she pointed out, gesturing at Lettuce's current outfit: a pale cream blouse/skirt combination, with slip-on white wedge sandals.

Lettuce blushed again; she was referring to her Mew Mew outfit, and the uniform she wore nearly every day when she worked at the cafe. But no one else needed to know that, least of all her schoolmates. "I m-meant clothes I wear at home," she replied, a little too quickly.

Luckily for her, Yuka easily accepted that explanation and nodded. "Hm, sounds about right..." In a flutter of cloth, she'd vanished into the depths of the dresses again, laughing loud enough that the nearby store clerk gave them an irritated look. "Then I'll just have to find something green for you!"

"O-Oh, you don't have to do that! I have enough clothes in my closet, honestly," the bespectacled girl replied, and tried to peer through a gap in the dresses for the brunette. "You really shouldn't-"

Yuka stuck her head out over the top of the rack and winked at Lettuce. "Hey, consider it a gift! Mayu and Rei always make you come with us, even though you never want to buy anything. Think of it as something like compensation, 'kay?" she asked, grinning playfully.

Her cheerfulness was contagious; Lettuce couldn't help but smile back at her and nod. "Alright, since you won't take 'no' for an answer," she relented with a giggle.

Yuka's grin widened and she dove back into the clothes, the only sounds heard were the ruffling of clothes and distant chatter of other shoppers. Lettuce waited patiently for her to finish, browsing through a row of high heels across the aisle. A few minutes passed before her classmate let out a victory cry and stuck her arm out above the racks, showing something green clutched tight in her hands.

"C'mon over here and try this on, Lettuce!" declared Yuka, aggressively waving the green cloth around to catch her attention, as if her voice hadn't already done so.

With an embarrassed flush Lettuce met the other girl halfway, taking the forest-colored dress from her outstretched hands. At Yuka's persistence, they found their way back to the dressing rooms, where the green-haired girl outfitted herself before stepping back out again, coming up to Yuka for appraisal. The slender halter dress (decorated with a beautiful woodland scene) hugged her body and flowed outwards past her knees, kicking up whenever she walked. The brunette asked her to twirl, and as she did so the hem flared up around herself, making the girl point out rather oddly how the dress reminded her of waves crashing against a rock in the ocean.

Yuka hummed appreciatively as she looked the girl up and down. "You know," she started thoughtfully, "if you wore that and changed your hair a bit, you could totally cosplay that green Mew Mew! You two look so alike - it would be so cool if she turned out to be your long-lost sister or something!"

Lettuce felt her face grow hot at Yuka's words - the brunette continued rambling on about how lucky Lettuce would be if she and the Mews were somehow related, but she didn't hear what the other girl said. The fact that someone (close to her, even!) had almost connected the dots between the true identity of the green Mew Mew and Lettuce Midorikawa scared the pants off of the bespectacled girl. She clutched the hem of the dress tight in her fingers, trying hard to look anywhere but at the ecstatic girl in front of her.

"-and who knows? You could totally fight with them! Though you're too nice for something like that, I dunno if it would work..." Yuka was saying. "What do you think, Lettuce?"

"Hey, you guys!"

Before Lettuce could respond, a familiar and very much welcome voice called to them from down the aisle. Mayu and Rei were fighting their way over to the dressing rooms quite viciously; at least two people who shoved the teenage girls back were felled by Rei's fancy navy leather purse, making the other two girls wince in sympathy for those strangers.

They were slightly out of breath when they finally reached Yuka and Lettuce but had wicked looks of excitement in their eyes that sparked a fit of giggles from all four of them. Mayu had several bags on her arms, all of which she dropped at the sight of Lettuce. "OMG!" she squealed, looking like a kid left alone in a candy store. "You're gorgeous, Lettuce! You should wear dresses like that more often, you look so cute!"

_I don't know if 'cute' is the word for this_ , Lettuce thought to herself, still smiling uncomfortably at them. She loved the dress and the way it felt, but she couldn't exactly afford it. "I don't think summer dresses are going to stay trendy once autumn comes," she said, but it went unheard by the three girls gushing over her appearance. She gave a quiet sigh and looked past them to the crowds beyond, deciding to people-watch until the girls finished flitting about her like loudly giggling fairies.

"If she took off her glasses and let her hair down, she'd totally be able to cosplay the green Mew Mew," Rei mused. All three glanced at her surreptitiously as they threw in ideas. Lettuce met their stares with a slight blush on her cheeks at their intensity (backed by fiery teenage passion unmatched in most likely the entire store).

Yuka looked ecstatic, "That's what I was saying! Lettuce looks so much like her, I thought it'd be cool if the Mew Mew turned out to be her sister or something like that."

"I can  _so_  see that happening!" Mayu exclaimed with a squeal.

The three proceeded to drag the poor green-haired girl back and forth between the young adult wear section and the changing rooms, putting her in outfit after outfit and having her come out to let them see. Everything they liked on her they offered to pay for, including the first dress she tried on. Lettuce tried to protest this but quickly realized she was getting nowhere, so she gave up and let the girls do as they pleased, and lost herself in thought as a brief distraction from the bubbly atmosphere.

_Please don't let this crazy night end any more strangely than it already has!_


End file.
